Brothers
by nosmaeth
Summary: Of youth, and kings, and brothers, and love. Because building Lindon was not an easy thing to do for a king with an adventurous heart. Accepting mortality was not an easy thing either, for a brother who loved being an Eldar. A small one-shot, that wasn't supposed to be about anyting in particular, and yet featured many different things in the end.


**Brothers**

"_Where have you been?"  
_Nobody else would have dared to address the King in such a way, leaving out his title of superiority so bluntly. Nobody else, but the quick-tempered son of Earendil.  
"_Do not trouble yourself with it, my lord!"_ he said pointedly, though no real anger edged his words, rather there was a mocking undercurrent to it. Elros's concern moved and irked him at the same time. He was, after all, The King. He needed not to answer to anyone. Besides, his whereabouts should have been obvious; though his prey already enriched the royal kitchen's storeroom, he still had his bow and arrows, and quite a few feathers on his cloak, that were so obviously not part of his original garment.  
"_I do trouble myself with the whereabouts of my king! Especially if my king tends to forget about himself and leaves on dangerous hunting trips on his own..."_ Elros was obviously furious, and his fury threatened to overcome his better judgement.  
"_Do not cross the line, Elros!"_ Gil-galad said, with a touch of his stern strength in his voice. Then he placed a hand on the shoulders of Elros, gripping them slightly, and he added a little more gently: _"Peace, cousin! The war is over!"  
_"_Exactly"_ Elros asnwered soberly, gazing at his king with hard, grey eyes. _"Now is the time to build a home! You can not afford to endanger yourself, or go missing! Your people count on you."_ and before Gil-galad had the chance to interrupt, he added quietly: _"I count on you!_"  
"_Oh, to Morgoth's hell with you!"_ grumbled Gil-galad angrily. There was no way of staying angry with the boy... Not after this._ "I am building a home. Just don't expect me to stay in it!"  
_And he patted the back of Elros in a patronising way, before making a rather quick escape to his bathing-chamber. There was about to be a feast that night, and these peasant feathers just would not do on his royal robes. Nor would the scent of blood for that matter...

o.o

By the time Anor had dived into the distant seas, Ereinion resumed his royal attire; rich golden headdress emphasised his magnificent presence, and his eyes gleamed dangerously, as he took the arms of his nephews with a decidedly merry charm.  
"_Come now, lost brothers, time to celebrate the completion of this splendid hall, that I absolutely intend to avoid in the foreseeable future."  
_"_My lord_" Elrond moaned scandalized, but Ereinion was not in the right mood to listen to his wiser cousin. Not now. _"But you are the..."  
_"_I know, I know... I am the High King of the Noldor, doomed to die as all my ancestors did. Such a delightful prospect. Now come, celebrate, and let us speak naught of titles and destiny. Not tonight, dear ones!  
_"_Do not speak like that, my lord!"  
_"_It's Gil-galad to you, Elrond, and please allow your king the privilege of saying what he wishes. Besides, you should enjoy yourself, this should be your time! I have just witnessed a group of young ladies __swooning__ over you... or Elros. I was not sure. Than again, I don't think they were sure either..."  
_Elrond only raised one expressive eyebrow to this, but he did not comment any more, only sighed deeply. Elros, on the other hand, obviously thrilled by the mention of young ladies possibly swooning over him, chuckled merrily.  
"_Come on, Elrond! Seize the day! The war is over, and you need to stop over-thinking everything!"  
_"_Tell that to yourself!" _muttered Gil-galad darkly, but Elros was already surrounded by at least ten lovely ladies, human and Eldar alike, all batting their eyelashes at him, smiling and laughing at every remark he made.  
"_And to think the future of Mankind is entirely in his hands"_ murmured Elrond quietly to himself, not quite understanding the double-edge of his words, in his naïvety. But Ereinion suppressed the laugh for his sake.  
"_Does that still hurt you, Noola-titta*?"  
_Elrond's silver eyes were deeper than the outer oceans of Ulmo, and in their depth eternal sorrow lived. Only those who were close to him knew this, for ever it was concealed by his gentle compassion and his hunger for knowledge.  
"_What does your heart tell you, Son of Kings?"_ he asked quietly, and he left him on the spot, heading for the balconies. For a minute Gil-galad wished to go after the boy, but he thought better of it. Elrond needed to fight this alone. Nothing he could say would make any difference in the end. And even though he could not even begin to imagine the pain Elrond felt over losing his brother, his heart was also heavy. He loved both of them dearly.

o.o

"_You don't enjoy the feast, do you?"  
_Silvery sound disrupted Elrond's dark musing. He looked up and then around to identify the source, but there was no one to be seen. "_Where are you?"  
_"_I am right here."  
_Silvery hair matched the musical voice, piercing blue eyes stared up at him. He did not notice the girl, for she was hidden by the stone-rails of the balcony. She was too small for an Eldar and she looked very-very young, probably not older than sixteen or eighteen years. Whatever she was doing out in the nature, in the middle of the night, he could not fathom.  
She extended her hands towards him, and he stared at her, transfixed.  
"_Oh, help me up, will you?"  
_"_Pardon me!"_ He felt as his cheeks warmed and reddened, and he cursed himself under his breath. Elrond always appeared perfect and immaculate, and he did not enjoy acting like a fool. _"Certainly, my lady!"_ He took her hands and helped her to jump over the railing, which was surprisingly easy, especially considering that the railing was taller than she was altogether. The elleth weighed almost nothing, and for a moment Elrond was reminded of a piece of small jewel. She burned too, just as vividly as a gem would.  
"_Thank you, my lord!"_ She curtsied gracefully, lightly. Her silver hair glistened somewhat unsettlingly in the moonlight, and Elrond decided that nobody should be allowed to shine quite as brightly as she did.

"_You did not answer my question!"  
_He blinked, not quite grasping what she meant. She was like a bolt of lightning, a sudden and unexpected ray of strong, clear starlight amidst his dark thoughts. She completely puzzled him, and he had to admit that his quick-wit eluded him in these most dire situations. In other words—he said ironically to himself,—he stared just like a dumb sheep would.  
"_You don't have to answer me of course"_ she pressed her lips together and she frowned. _"I understand if the mighty son of Earendil does not wish to share his burden. I was a fool for asking, forgive me, my lord!"  
_She was not good at hiding emotions. It was too easy to see that his lack of response disappointed and hurt her, even though she tried to remain courteous and polite. He smiled at the irony of the situation.  
"_I am sorry, my lady! I did not know how to answer!"_ This answer would hopefully be sufficient to propitiate her, without making a complete fool out of him. _"But you seem to know my name, whereas I do not know yours!"  
_"_Oh, well... I can not tell you that." _She admitted, turning her gaze down.  
"_Why ever not?"  
_"_Because I should not be here. Mother forbade it! And if I tell you my name..."  
_Elrond actually laughed out loud. The absurdity of the situation effectively cracked the walls of grief he had placed around himself, and for the first time in a year it seemed, he really did laugh. Not forcedly, but from his heart. Unfortunately though, he did not consider the consequences of his merriness. His young companion blushed furiously, and her frightening blue eyes had a dangerous fire to them now.  
"_I might be young, my lord, but even I know how impolite it is, to laugh at someone. Thank you for all the kindness you have failed to show me! From now on, I shall know what to expect from the House of Earendil. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go!"  
_And with the lightness of a bird, she jumped over the railing, landed soundlessly on her feet, and stormed away in a blink of an eye.  
Not one second later Gil-galad stepped out to the balcony.  
"_Come in cousin, it is cold outside!"  
_And to his immense surprise, Elrond obeyed with a distant, but honest smile on his lips.

o.o

Inside there was music and laughter and dancing all around. Elrond caught the eyes of Elros circling the room with a coal-haired mortal girl in his arms. He shook his head and frowned angrily. In response Elros rolled his eyes, but excused himself and left his lovely companion in the care of her friends. Elrond could see how shallowly the girl breathed, how foggily she stared after Elros.  
"_You should not do that!" _he hissed furiously when his brother reached him.  
"_Do what?"_ asked Elros innocently and poured a glass of wine to himself. Judging by the fire in his eyes, that glass was following at least five or six of its peers. _"Enjoy myself?"  
_"_No, you __dimwi__t. You should not dazzle mortals like that!"  
_"_What do you mean?"_ he was clearly puzzled for a moment.  
"_You do not think at all, do you?_ _She is a mortal, Elros! Do you honestly want her to spend the few short years she has, mourning over you?"  
__"She is not in love with me!"_ Elros shook his head in defiance.  
"_No, perhaps she is not. Not yet. But she is hoping for you, instead of looking around for other suitors. She will turn everyone down because no mortal man can match the Peredil, and for what? You do not even know her name, I wager! She does not have the privilege of eternity like you do! Do not play with her emotions, because she will die!" _he whispered angrily.  
"_Oh, ever the compassionate one! Let me remind you than, brother, that I too am going to die, just like they will!"  
_But as soon as Elros said the words, he regretted them, and all his fury got dispersed by the look on his brother's face.  
"_Forgive me, Elrond! I wasn't thinking... "  
_"_No, apparently you were not."_ Elrond answered flatly. _"Give me that!" _And he drank a whole glass of wine. And than he swiftly chased it down with another. It was surprisingly ineffective.

"_Can you ever truly forgive me? For all of it? Can you ever understand?" _Elros actually pleaded in fear, grasping Elrond's underarm with unexpected strength.  
And even though he believed that he understood it before, Elrond finally saw for the first time, that the matter was far from settled. He, the most compassionate of all the Children of Illuvatar, Elrond the Wise, as some already called him, had failed to fully understand and forgive his brother. His very own twin brother, his very own heart and soul, placed in another – strikingly similar – body. Strangely the realisation left him relieved.  
"_Not yet, not today. But I can, and I will!"_ He returned Elros' frantic grip and cursed inwardly. "_Is there a decent drink in this hell-hole?"_

* * *

*** "Noola" is supposed to mean "wise", and "titta" should mean "little" in Quenya. Sadly, I am fairly certain that Noola- titta doesn't mean anything, but I grew too fond of how it sounds. I don't know anything about shaping Quenya words, but in my mind it should mean "little wise-one". I am sorry if it isn't, and I hope my careless attitude is not offensive towards anyone who actually took time to learn Quenya properly! **


End file.
